From MartinN: Schaeffer's Last Chancers finished [50 points]

Having painted Scope for my last entry I thought I might just as well crack on and finish the remaining five Chancers. So after almost five years the whole gang is finally reunited.

To mark the occasion I also took a group shot with all 12 of them. My painting style has evolved over the intervening year but they work together well enough. In fact the Chancers were the first figures I painted using a wet palette instead of painting straight from the pot.

And while I was at it anyway I also dug up a (luckily poor) picture of their previous paint job... I thought them rather smashing back then at the start of the 21st century. 20 years on and I'm not that convinced anymore. Probably all down to the nicer background for my photo shoots ;-)

OK, that's it for today. Hope you all had a good start into the new year!

From SidneyR: The Book Golem (25 points)

***

For everyone, there's always that book. The one you saw as a child, which was possibly "a bit old for you", or was in that awkward place on the bookshelf which was difficult for your hands to reach. Maybe you didn't read all of the book - maybe you only read a few pages.  But however much you read, your imagination was never the same again. The book opened new worlds, introduced you to characters from myth and legend, heroes and villains, and led you to cities of golden spires or ruins which were salted with ashes and dust. 

Something magical was happening while you read that book. And nothing would ever be quite the same again.

If that ever happened to you, maybe you had received a visit from a book golem.  These magical spirits inhabit old books and young imaginations, waiting to seep from the pages into the mind of an impressionable reader.  They can assume any form, both female and male, and can be benign or.... mischievous.  

And being magical, they are spectral in nature and dazzlingly coloured - often in pink, or purple.  Something to catch a young reader's eye.

Number Appearing: One per favourite book

Armour class: Varies, according to book description

Intelligence:  Exponentially increased with the number of pages read

Number of Attacks: Varies, but can be as many as one per book chapter (additional attacks for any Horus Heresy book chapter)

Predominant colour:  Magical, changeable and frequently pink

*****

So here's my submission for "The Golem's Haunt".  I was going to try and sculpt my own green-stuff Golem, but I've had two Games Workshop 'daemonettes', from the 1990s, hanging around the lead mountain box for the best part of a couple of decades.  These are very politically incorrect - the sculpts being explicable only by being magical in nature.  One found its way to the classical statute in my "Hall of Traps" entry (minus its demonic horns), and here's the other one.  

The Book Golem is resting besides a pile of books from Midlam Miniatures, the pages of which are illustrated by some arcane knowledge.  One of the daemons depicted seems to bear more than a passing resemblance to the Level Three magical spirit in the Chambers of Challenge XI map....

Like so many of you, fellow Challengers, I've loved books all my life.  In addition to enjoying the hobby of painting miniature figures and wargaming (or rolepaying) with them, one thing all hobbyists seem to share is a love of reading.  And, as I've mentioned, there's always one book which sparks things off...

The first photo in this post is my book golem on a page from a classical dictionary, which my Mum rescued from a rubbish bin when she worked in a library.  Broken spined, with tattered and foxed pages, it sat on a bookshelf of my childhood home.  It looked out of place.  But to a young, impressionable, eager reader (me!) it was something unbelievably different.  I used to turn the pages, trying to understand the entries, sometimes picking out the classical names and legends.  

Something magical happened when I read the pages of that book.  And I'm sure you have your own books, fellow Challengers, from which your own book golems drifted into your impressionable minds!

Happy New Year, Challengers!

So, for the points, I'd suggest just 3 for the Book Golem (minus 2 for being small - its about 20mm) and a couple for the Midlam Miniatures books - so 5 points in total, and 20 for completing "The Golem's Haunt".

From GeorgeS - 1:32 German Afriks Korps

       Happy New Year to everyone!! Let's leave 2020 behind and keep only the knowledge we gain through all this adventure.  This next year must be the most creative and productive for all of us!

     An assortment of Airfix and Matchbox 1:32 figures of "Afrika Korps" issue. Classic sets from the 70s and 80s in my favourite scale of 54mm. No more comments needed for these famous figures and poses!

       No chamber of challenge for this post. Just some points..( 10 X 7 =70pts).

 

 

Cheer up everybody! This is 2021!!

Keep Up The Brushes!!

 

 

SebastianR: Ho Ho Ho-all of ancestors (45pts?)

Happy New Year fellow challengers and casual blog readers, in order to clear the Hall of Ancestors and to and to justify this (rather pricey in retrospect) impulse buy.

 

"But wait! I" hear you cry. "What does this super deformed santa tank have to do with ancestors Sebastian?"

Well, amongst the last collection of miniatures I painted were a trio of M1 Abrams and this super deformed (chibi?) Sherman tank is clearly an ancestor to them as the OG US tank.*

Honestly, I was very surprised by the quality of the kit. The bits came of the sprue easily and with no threat of snapping, and parts even had odd shaped guide-holes to ensure parts were going in the right places. I also usually hate decalling, but these ones were a dream to work with. Battlefront has some lessons to learn.

What also surprised me was the lack of quality in the Tamiya spray I originally tried to coat this in. It ran, it took ages to dry and it gave the figure a shellacked quality which I really didn't like. I *was* surprised that the GW red spray I went and bought to replace it, gave a smooth Santa red coat, with only one application. You win this one gee dubs.

I deliberately kept the scheme incredibly simple, as well, it's a cartoon santa tank, and it'll probably never see the the table top. Maybe if I ever play What a Tanker.

Anyway, Santa's here to close out the holiday season and crush the enemies of capitalism with all the might his disposal. Now drink your coca-cola you filthy commie!

20 points for the challenge, 5 points for an oversized 28mm mini and 20 points for an undersized 28mm tank.

Note for Curt/his fiendish minions - tank is roughly 28mm, but happy to accept 20mm points due to tininess/simplicity of paint job.

 

*Tell me in the comments how the M1 Combat Car was the OG US tank.

From DrQ: The Shrine of Tzeentch (40 points)

All is quiet on New Years Day. A world in white gets underway.

Moving from the Adventures' Landing to the Shrine, we are greeted not by holy devotes dedicated to celestials powers of goodness or law, but rather by two acolytes of the incomprehensible and unpronounceable force Lord of Change: Tzeentch!

Here for you all today we have two Kairic Acolytes accompanied by two demons. If you are unfamiliar with these clerics of the infernal, the most recent battletome describes them as such:

In the end, only those who wholly commit can attempt the Kairic Test of Nine. Each cult has its own variations on these rites, but all end with the walk through warpfire. Those that emerge unharmed become Kairic Acolytes. Chanting arcane phrases that hurt the ears of the uninitiated, a scrawny scribe or frail council elder transforms. Flesh ripples and from nothing appear a curseblade and shearbeak helm, gleaming greaves and an Arcanite shield. Thus can a cultist, with mere words, transform themselves from ailing scholar or lanky apprentice to a muscular ideal of the human form and back again. With such arcane disguises, the Kairic Acolytes can infiltrate and subvert the very forces of those who hunt them (Disciples of Tzeentch Battletome, p. 39).

Not fun guys to bring to parties! These models are half of a team for the Warhammer Underworlds game and are known collectively as the Eyes of the Nine. I picked the up on an internet sale for $10USD, which makes we wonder if they are at all competitive for play in the game. 

There are two acolytes in the team. The male above and the female below. 

I painted both of these figures primarily using colour shift paints from Turbo Dork called "Prism Power" and "Twin Sons." These are metallic paints that behave differently on white or black undercoats. They also have a slight oil-slick sheen to them as well. The hope was to mimic the shifting colours and patterns of the demonic lord they follow.

I also painted up the two demons that are in the set as well. The larger one worked well for the colour shift paints, but the shorter flame demons needed a more traditional paint job.

It's hard to convey the paint's effects in static images, but this last one does a pretty good job with the larger demon on the right. The blue areas were those that were undercoated white, while the green sheen is where there is black. The paints are tricky to use—basically acting like even more temperamental holographic colour-shift paints—but I think they might have edge applications for models where you want to invoke something eldritch and incomprehensible.

So, as far as points this is about 40: 20 for the Shrine challenge and another 20 for four 28mm figures. 

Also, as a matter of record, I've totaled about 130 (120 if you don't count the two modded holiday models) towards the GW side duel. 

From here I'm heading to the Ork (sic!) Pit. I'm sure no one can guess what I'll be painting up for there...

From MilesR: Parthians in 6mm (303 Points)

My third submission for this years challenge is yet another 6mm scale ancients themed entry - a Parthian army.  These figures are from Baccus and where fun to paint up and base. 

First up are 17 bases of mounted archers and 3 bases of javelin armed troops.  These formations are the real work horses of any Parthian force and are employed to wear down opponents with showers of arrows and constant running around.  

Parthian armies also had respectably sized infantry formations of light and medium troops - my little force has 8 bases of archers, 2 skirmish stands and...

4 stands of medium spear infantry.  Perhaps not of the same quality as a Roman Legionnaire but maybe just good enough to delay an attacking enemy force while the showboats of the Parthian military trundle into position.  Once the Baccus cart opens up, I'll probable enhance this force with a few more bases of Spear infantry

I also had just enough extra figures to make up 3 command stands.

And who are those showboats - armored cataphracts - 10 bases of them.  Somewhat slope compared to the Horse Archers but when they hit - Bam!  It's just getting them in position to charge that is the tricky part.

Just because they are fun guys to have around - 6 bases of armored Camel cataphracts.  These troops were pretty rare and I can't really see a scenario where all 6 get used but Baccus sells them in packs of 36 so I painted them all up.

Well there you have it - my second of four planned 6mm scale ancients armies for this year's Challenge.  I've painted up all the 6mm ancients mini's I have on hand and am now waiting for the Baccus ironworks to complete my remaining orders.  Crack that whip, Mr Berry, crack that whip!

Perhaps it's time to turn to a little terrain making - maybe something set in Sept/October 1942, in southern Russia and maybe along the banks of the Volga river....

Points wise this entry consists of 208 Infantry figures and 199 mounted figures - so that works out to 303 points.

From MartinC Ottoman Artillery (100pts)

 Happy new year one and all. Hope nobody had a party, everyone stayed in and was sensible.

The Turkish forces in WW1 had no tanks or armoured cars, which creates a problem when fighting as the British did. So I need artillery to give me AT capability. The Turks used 75mm Krupp guns as light artillery. However they were few as the Turks never really recoved from having their arse handed to them in the Balkans before WW1 and losing a lot of kit. Even worse the artillery shortage during the Caucasian campaign was critical. 

So all that being said I have painted up 3 75mm guns

Gripping Beast guns come with a crew of 6 which is excessive for gaming so I bought an extra gun from Tiger Miniatures and had 3 guns with 4 crew

These have come out well and I'm pleased with them

Photos of Ottoman artillery often show a single man in white uniform, usually the sergeant. Wearing white must have been dangerous in battle, even if you are the artillery.

Despite all i said about lack of artillery I have added a forward observer

This is a really nice model with field telephone and range finder viewer. For Caucus this will be a spotter but for bigger WW1 battles it will be forward observer. in Bolt Action they get 1 potentially devastating shot at a heavy barrage. Good for softening up the enemy

Scores on the Doors

3 crew served weapons with 4 crew = 90pts

Forward observers = 10 pts

Total = 100

Have a good day for tis work on Monday.

From Paul O'G: Caesarian Romans (80 points)

 Happy New Year Challengers!

First day of a new year and so the first submission of a new project: Caesarian Romans for Infamy Infamy. Alan is also doing some late Republic Romans, another local mate who has both Germans and Romans, and you see some Celts from Reilly sometime this challenge too. Between us we can do the Conquest f Gaul, Invasions of Germania, raids on Britannia, and the Civil Wars which resulted in the founding of the Empire under the deified Augustus. Should be a hoot.

These are my first two units, each of 8 figures, saboted on squares so I can rank base them for other games such as WAB, Soldiers of Rome or Impetus. I've done these deliberately NOT in red - the horror!. Shield stickers by LBM, my first time using them - found them rather daunting and fiddly but they look the business. The distinctive shields will distinguish them from my main legion force, so they can be veterans, recruits or auxilia.

These 16 proud soldiers of Rome should net me 80 points. Roma Victrix!

From LeeH - CoC - The Larder - Olaf the Brewmaster

Olaf loved his craft and brewed the best beer for hundreds of miles, but he hated his employer and yearned to see the world. So one day he picked up his favourite barrel, a few tankards, and left the city of his birth. He took his work with him of course (what self-respecting Dwarf wouldn't??) and his fighting technique can only be described as 'unique'. He'd faced many challenges and adventures with his trusty brew to sustain him, and now as he crossed the great desert, he was confident that brining something to drink was a good idea...

This is a Ral Partha figure that I saw on eBay a few weeks ago and bought specifically for this room in the Chambers of Challenge. He'll make an amusing addition to my fantasy RPG collection and I'm positive I'll see him on the games table at some point in the near future! 

Leaving the Larder I now view the passage down to The Hatchery with some trepidation. I can hear a lot of growling and grunting from the room below so I grip my brush tightly, raise my lamp higher and descend the stairs slowly...

(Scoring - 1x28mm Figure +CoC Bonus = 25 points)

From StuartL - A Slight Case of Scale Creep - 45 points

 Moving on from the Armoury, I find myself at the Hall of Ancestors. Sadly I don't know much about my own ancestors, I've never heard of having anyone famous in the family and there are no stories about Great Great Grandad's daring exploits. So, I went a different way and looked for models that could showcase the past and present nicely.

Back in March 2019 I posted up 5 Goliath minis for Necromunda. These minis usually come 10 to a box, but I had also used one for a conversion elsewhere. To get the 5 minis I needed for a Squirrel point, I had to find one more Goliath figure for the group. Luckily, I had one of the very old 1st edition plastic figures lying around. Basing it up to match the rest of the gang, I repainted it so that it kind of, sort of fits in.

This is the 'ancestor' in all of his malformed glory. The right arm is about 50% bigger than it should be to match the figure. He's also quite short and stout as well.

And these fellows are the descendants. They are still overly muscled figures, but the proportions are much better than before. The figures come with loads of war-gear options and are fairly easy to assemble in a variety of poses.

Side by side, you can see the difference between the old and the new quite clearly. The sculptor has included some design elements from the older figure like the mohawk, the belt with a skull, and the large boots.

So for 5x 28mm minis, that adds 25 points to my GW duel as well as my total, plus 20 more for the Hall of Ancestors (assuming that the entry meets the Snowlord's approval). Between them, there are 11 Skullz on the belts, weapons and pouches. As there are 25 points here, they also count as a Squirrel for the Necromunda game.

My running Duel Totals are:

GW Points - 280

Skullz - 100

Squirrels - 4

Codsticker's Curtgeld: Fenris Games' Agent Krueger (25 pts)

 My Price of Entry is this 28mm figure from Fenris Games APEX Investigators collection.

Not exactly sure what Agent Krueger does, but I painted him up as a person of interest for a modern pulp adventure type of game.

Perhaps he is an informant, works for a criminal organisation or an enemy agent with valuable intel. My first use of a clear acrylic base- I think I like it, especially for figures that could find themselves in a wide variety of environments.

From TomM: Golem's Haunt: Tau Gun Drones (30 pts)

For the next chamber to be braved in the Chambers of Challenge, a place full of dreaded traps and horrid beasts, the Golem's Haunt has to be conquered.

The idea in this room is to submit something that has been "created", and while I initially thought of some beast to print for my DnD pile, I went for another route and chose AI.

The Tau empire makes extensive use of AI drones to accompany their troops, and as part of my Gundam SEED inspired army (work in progress, estimate finishing 2027) I painted up a couple of Gun Drones (in the colours of a "Ball" worker mobile suit).

These little discs of sheer annoyance add some additional firepower to a Tau unit, but their real use lies in the Saviour Protocols, in which they sacrifice themselves for their masters nearby when under fire.

So that is 2 models for the room, which with the room bonus yields a lovely 30 points for the tally.

And now, onwards to the one challenge I dread the most this year!